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Dad is guiding me well, and is patiently watching me do things he could do one-handed and blindfolded. And answering all my dumb questions, like "Do the manifold gaskets get sealant too?" "No, they already have sticky stuff in them." He is also a stickler for taking the time to do things...
Can't believe how great this truck looks, and how fast you have done it (well actually, I CAN believe it, but I'm just sayin'). Makes me hungry. Nice to see you playing the "find the hidden object" game too. Fun, isn't it? You've got Oldfart all cranked up on it now, so who knows what dummy...
While O.P.I. Conga-Line Coral is a great color, it is a bit too orange to use to paint the cross. Not to mention that nail polish is the most expensive paint known to man. I wear gloves when I'm messing around with chemicals, and I have the extensive damage to my acrylic nails (like from...
Butt chewing is well deserved, especially since I have had horses since I was 5 and I know what heavy things can do to feet. I even thought that looking the pictures, "Good God woman, what are you doing wearing flip-flops!" Not to mention my good Liz Claiborne shorts. And I should really know...
Thanks for all the words of encouragement, they mean a lot to me. I am also happy and proud that I'm "keepin' 'em rolling," as our MVCC club motto says. Nothing like showing up at a parade or other event and seeing the faces of the veterans as we roll by. Those are the best days.
We have...
Watching this M43 come together so beautifully is really motivating me to work on mine. I think they are just the most wonderful trucks. Such a good job, Zout.
Kind of feel like I'm making a little progress, finally. Have most of the attachments off the old engine and on the new one. I'm learning a lot with this remove and replace. I have a basic understanding of how an internal combustion engine works, and I have more specific knowledge of certain...
She's looking really good, Zout. It'll be so much nicer to paint her without the engine. And you're really cruising along quickly!!
And I can totally identify with sitting in it twisting the wheel pretending that you are driving - I have done that, all by myself, and on more than one...
Just an ordinary clutch pull. I was very happy to find that the clutch is good. In fact, I can probably go through three or four more engines before I'll need a new clutch.
Looking at these pictures, I am reminded of how close I came to selling this truck a few years ago due to my "personal...
In order to pull the center floorboard, you of course have to remove the gearshift. It kind of looked like it might just clamp on, but the bolt has to be totally removed because it slides into a little notch. Managed to mix my own OD green paint, made a small batch just to test the color. I...
Started the motor swap today - got the old motor pulled and the new and old engines set up in the shop close to each other so we can transfer parts easily. Pulled the transmission along with the motor. Took the center floorboard up, and it made things so much easier to get to. Having the...
After all the bolts and wires were undone, the clip was lifted off the truck. There are tabs by the cab that the fenders slip on to, we had to lever them off to loosen the clip so it could be pulled off.
Many thanks to Oldfart for his expertise, feeding me tools, a little extra muscle, taking...
About a half dozen wires run from the front of the clip to the firewall on each side. They are held to the inside of the wheel wells with tension clips that hold each sealed wire connector. The connectors are a push-turn-pull type. Some of them were pretty cranky. We undid the connections...
There are four bolts underneath the engine, on the belly shroud for the fan. The two that are safety-wired together are in the center, and there are two more, one on each side that connect to the splash plates. Except for the crud that tried to fall in my eyes, they didn't give me any trouble.
Here are some pictures from pulling the front clip today. We blew about 50 lbs of mouse poop out of it so it wouldn't get in the shop. Don't know if the dash picture shows it well, but the inside is dark OD - almost forest green. I'll try to match that for the exterior. The chain by the...